The present disclosure relates generally to the field of medical devices. More specifically, the present invention relates to the field of intravenous medical systems.
Intravenous catheter systems are used in the field of administering medical care. While typical needles and syringes are capable of administering or drawing fluids to and from a patient's blood vessels, an intravenous catheter system allows for multiple or prolonged administrations to or drawings from the patient through the use of a single puncture to a chosen blood vessel.
In a typical IV placement procedure, the medical caregiver prepares the needle entry area by using an antibacterial preparation. Typically, the needle entry area is the skin covering a chosen blood vessel near the surface of the skin. Next, the medical caregiver removes the protective cap from the needle, exposing the needle tip which is protruding from the catheter system. Then, the medical caregiver grasps an area slightly distal to the needle entry area and uses her thumb to anchor the chosen blood vessel.
Next, holding the needle at an angle with respect to the relatively flat needle entry area, the medical caregiver then pierces the patient's skin and tissue over the chosen blood vessel.
Then, the shaft of the needle is lowered toward the patient's skin until it is almost parallel with the skin surface. Thereafter, the needle is advanced into the blood vessel. Then, while holding the retractable needle system steady, the medical caregiver pushes the catheter into the blood vessel by manually sliding the hub portion and catheter away from the retractable needle system along the length of the needle.
Thereafter, the needle retraction system is separated from the catheter system. This causes the needle to be removed from the catheter and the patient. Once the needle is fully removed from the patient, the medical caregiver retracts the needle into the housing by activating the needle retraction mechanism and disposes of retractable needle system. Once the catheter is properly inserted into the blood vessel, additional accessories, including accessories to prevent the spillage of blood, are connected to the hub portion. These accessories allow fluids to be administered or drawn through the IV through various types of needles and devices, including needles, blunts, needleless syringes, IV bags or the like.
Various shortcomings of current IV systems include the difficulty with the initial insertion of the needle into the vessel, especially where the vessel is prone to collapse, and then supporting the vessel once the insertion is completed. At least some of the shortcomings will be overcome by the embodiments described herein.